Voting campaigns reach out to youths

By Anthony Witrado

Andre 3000, half of rap duo Outkast, stood on the stage looking disinterested and covered in red, white and blue confetti.

It was the closing performance of the MTV Video Music Awards show that aired last month. Fans were given signs with "Choose or Lose" and "Vote or Die" written on them and crepe paper fell from the ceiling so thick you could barely see who was singing.

This was all part of two major campaigns to attract younger voters, and the MTV show was the perfect chance to reach a lot of 18-25-year-olds at once.

But the show might have had a reverse effect.

Viewers were bombarded with voting imagery and artists taking the stage to emphasize its importance. Some tuned out and just wanted the show to move on.

"Having some signs and a couple of people talk about it is fine," said Maryann Anaya, a criminology major at Fresno State, "but they overdid it. It made me mad after a while. I'm still going to vote, but I'm watching the VMAs to see who wins, not to be told to vote every five minutes."

MTV's Choose or Lose campaign has been ongoing, as has its Rock the Vote campaign, which features musicians talking about the importance of voting.

The Choose or Lose link on MTV's Web site allows people to register to vote, gives information on the candidates and provides news updates.

Vote or Die started this year and set a goal of registering one million new voters by the election. It is an offshoot of the Citizen Change group, which works for the same goal. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs spearheaded the Vote or Die effort, and he's even started a clothing line, with shirts reading "Vote Or Die!"

Fashion and music seem to be the campaign's main tool to reach potential voters.

On the Citizen Change Web site, its mission statement reads: "Citizen Change has one mission: to make voting hot, sexy and relevant to a generation that hasn't reached full participation in the political process."

"It's cool that they are making an effort like that," business major Armando Cineceros said. "I'm sure they'll get a lot of people who haven't thought about voting to do it. If I wasn't thinking about it and all these rappers were saying it was cool, I'd probably register with [Citizen Change]."

There is no question that the campaigns have helped. The New Hampshire primary saw a 60 percent increase in young voter (18-25) turnout since the 2000 election, and other states, including California, expect big jumps based on early voter registration.

According to the 2000 census report, one third of voters ages 18 to 24 actually punched or sent in ballots.

But are these memorable slogans and aggressive campaigns informing the young voter?

They all provide information on the presidential candidates and their policies, but whether that information is actually read and processed can't be measured in numbers.

Vote or Die has been criticized for only being concerned with making voting attractive and not caring enough about the issues. They have also been accused of being one-sided, being that several of their spokespeople openly support the Democratic party. One liberal comic strip, The Boondocks, poked fun by having one of its characters—an 8-year-old only concerned with what hip-hop artists tell him is cool—screaming "Vote or Die!" at everyone.

"That's the problem," said Fresno City College student Floyd Wafer. "They are getting these kids to vote, but do they know what they are voting for?"

How many registered voters actually stepped into the booths won't be known until after the election, but the goal of giving them the opportunity is being accomplished by these organizations and their up-to-date spokespeople.

College students are hit with reminders and news about the election on a regular basis, though. So who are the campaigns affecting most?

"It's the people who don't care to begin with," Cineceros said. "If you can get those people registered, then work on educating them, then this is going to work."